Perhaps I am 25 years late and that The Ice Storm was considered avant-garde for his subjet matter in 1997. But for me, who've watched this movie in 2023, it offers nothing new or interesting. The dysfunctional and miserable family, bored dissastified parents suffering a midlife crisis and the weird, socially ackward and rebellious kids, the ubiquitous substance abuse, sexual mischiefs, odd behaviors and cathartic tragedy complete the generic (for 2023) plot. Some scenes are so silly, if not unrealistic, that it made me wonder if this movie was meant to be a satirical comedy instead of a drama. The dialogs are overall very shallow and dull. The movie does not do a good job in keeping me interested in any of these miserable characters. I did not feel any empathy for any of them, even after the tragedy. I don't understand the appeal of this movie. Watching miserable people behaving badly and oddly to escape boredom is not entertaining, nor interesting to me. Maybe this whole dysfunctional family, disastified and bored adults, oddball kids, etc, resonate mainly with Americans (after all, survey after survey shows that Americans are less happy and satisfied than people of other developed countries)?
Reviews
7 Reviews
We're a nation of children
26 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
That's why the movie was poorly received. It's an anti-war movie, in particular regarding the exploitation of "war heroes". But children don't wanna know or want to understand this.
Those young men were not only exploited when sent abroad but also when they are sent back home. And the latter is the interesting part told by the movie. When abroad, the soldiers are merely characters in a TV series the audience at home follows. When at home, they act as mascots or posters used in advertisement and marketing material or in sales pitches. The celebration of heroes is not for the soldiers but for the businesses, the politicians and the audience, much like Christmas is celebration of consumerism. The fact that, near the end of movie, Billy's girlfriend preferred him back on duty instead of "running away" really hits home the whole charade. The girlfriend was in love with the character, not the man behind the character.
The writing and the acting were uneven, so minus the stars; but the actor playing Billy was excellent.
Those young men were not only exploited when sent abroad but also when they are sent back home. And the latter is the interesting part told by the movie. When abroad, the soldiers are merely characters in a TV series the audience at home follows. When at home, they act as mascots or posters used in advertisement and marketing material or in sales pitches. The celebration of heroes is not for the soldiers but for the businesses, the politicians and the audience, much like Christmas is celebration of consumerism. The fact that, near the end of movie, Billy's girlfriend preferred him back on duty instead of "running away" really hits home the whole charade. The girlfriend was in love with the character, not the man behind the character.
The writing and the acting were uneven, so minus the stars; but the actor playing Billy was excellent.
The Descent
(2005)
Typical Hollywood Horror Film
7 August 2023
A bunch of idiots behaving non-sensically, check.
Cringey lame dialog, check.
Cameraman cheap scares (e.g. Idiot standing behind another idiot; camera pans), check.
Excessive, gratuitous violence and gore (not scary, just disgusting), check.
Creatures behaving non-sensically (even for beasts), check.
I guess the bar is set so low for the horror genre by the Hollywood audience, especially for (relatively) low budget independent films, that this one was well received.
"Horror" using gore, blood, violence and cheap camera tricks are easy. It doesn't require much inspiration and originality. But to the mature audience, it is not scary. Been there, seen that.
Cringey lame dialog, check.
Cameraman cheap scares (e.g. Idiot standing behind another idiot; camera pans), check.
Excessive, gratuitous violence and gore (not scary, just disgusting), check.
Creatures behaving non-sensically (even for beasts), check.
I guess the bar is set so low for the horror genre by the Hollywood audience, especially for (relatively) low budget independent films, that this one was well received.
"Horror" using gore, blood, violence and cheap camera tricks are easy. It doesn't require much inspiration and originality. But to the mature audience, it is not scary. Been there, seen that.
Cobra Kai
(2018–2025)
Nostalgia, nothing else.
8 January 2022
Not sure why this is so highly rated. Teens rating this en mass? Beyond nostalgia (I get it -- I grew up with the original movies), there isn't much for grown-ups here. The plot is extremely repetitive (going in circles over and over), the conflicts silly, banal and cliche, everyone is behaving like teens (including the adults), acting is subpar.
The Caviar Connection
(2021)
Another demonstrations of Western Hypocrisy and Weakness
21 December 2021
This eye-opening documentary reveals how a relatively small and obscure dictatorship skillfully maneuvers to gain undeserved respect and credibility from the western world and how it hold the western politics in its pocket. The "Free World" is turning a blind-eye on corruption, human rights abuse, political assassinations and many other types of injustice and crimes. Once again, western celebrities and politics can be bought with dirty blood money.
(The recent pressure on China was about human rights? Think again. It's about money.)
(The recent pressure on China was about human rights? Think again. It's about money.)
Uncut Gems
(2019)
Good for what it is but tiresome
3 February 2020
The plot and the cinematography are pretty interesting but not a single character is likable.
imdb writes: " A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets [....]" Charismatic? I don't think the person who wrote this knows what that word means. The jeweler is total jerk and idiot. While watching, I was impatiently waiting for someone to silence him for good.
Speaking of silence, sitting through the non-stop street banter and savage yelling is like watching two hours of quarreling between a pack of rabid dogs and a family of hyenas. Thank God there are more civilized people living in the real world.
imdb writes: " A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets [....]" Charismatic? I don't think the person who wrote this knows what that word means. The jeweler is total jerk and idiot. While watching, I was impatiently waiting for someone to silence him for good.
Speaking of silence, sitting through the non-stop street banter and savage yelling is like watching two hours of quarreling between a pack of rabid dogs and a family of hyenas. Thank God there are more civilized people living in the real world.
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